#TBT: Ryan Finally Comes To Terms With Down-Ballot Impact Of Trump

With today’s inevitable Trump endorsement from Speaker Paul Ryan, we thought it would be appropriate to put together this #TBT highlighting the down-ballot impact of Trump as nominee. After several weeks of feet dragging, Speaker Ryan has apparently realized he can’t stop the inevitable Trump ticket that awaits vulnerable House Republicans. Instead, he has come to terms with the reality NRCC chair Greg Walden acknowledged nearly 6 months ago – that Trump’s hateful rhetoric “puts, certainly, competitive seats in jeopardy.”

NRCC Chair Greg Walden: Trump Rhetoric “Puts, Certainly, Competitive Seats In Jeopardy.” “And House Republicans are expecting to lose roughly a dozen seats in 2016. Trump’s rhetoric, they fear, could cause those losses to grow substantially. ‘This is not what we’re about as a party, and this is not what we’re about as a country, and we cannot yield to this,’ Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is charged with electing Republicans to the House, said Tuesday. ‘It puts, certainly, competitive seats in jeopardy. We’ll have a much more difficult time.’” [Politico, 12/9/15]

NRCC Deputy Chair Stivers: Trump Would Be “Devastating” And “Would Cost Us Seats.” “Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), the NRCC’s deputy chairman in charge of helping reelect embattled GOP incumbents, was more blunt. ‘It would be devastating to our attempts to grow our majority and would cost us seats,’ Stivers said in an interview. Trump ‘would cost us seats. There are people that couldn’t win if he was our nominee.’” [Politico, 12/9/15]

Pollster Hired By NRCC Indicated Trump Nomination Would Damage Republicans’ Chances In Congressional Races. “Sackett’s presentation confirmed those worries. His poll showed that a plurality of respondents — 48 percent to 40 percent — would be less likely to vote for a Republican congressional candidate or incumbent if Trump were the nominee. The business mogul and former reality TV star, who has been leading in most GOP polls for months, was the only candidate surveyed on that question, the sources said.” [Politico, 1/13/16]

Former Colorado GOP Chair: Trump As Nominee Would Have “Devastating Effect On Down-Ticket Races For Congress.” “‘If Donald Trump becomes our Party’s nominee for President, not only will have a devastating effect on down-ticket races for Congress and the state legislature throughout the country in 2016, it will taint the brand, party platform and perception of the GOP among Hispanics, young people, women, and other religious and ethnic minorities for years to come.’” [Politico, 12/8/15]

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos: Trump As Nominee Would Hurt Down-Ballot Republicans. “Count Assembly Speaker Robin Vos among those who fear a Donald Trump presidential nomination hurting Republicans in other races this fall. . . . ‘I know quite a few conservatives who have said, ‘I’m not going to vote for somebody who isn’t a conservative.’ Because on certain things, I’m not sure he is,’ Vos, R-Rochester, said of Trump. ‘If a big chunk of folks decide to stay home but they’re disproportionately Republican, all the way down the ticket — from state Legislature to county treasurer to U.S. Senate — we could have less people voting for us.’” [Racine Journal Times, 2/29/16]

#RyanRealityCheck

Speaker Paul Ryan took over the reins of the unruly House Republican Conference with lofty ambitions for a "Year of Ideas." Follow this space as we bring the Speaker back down to Earth, with the help of the House Freedom Caucus and the GOP presidential field.